Piano Encores Tristan Pfaff

• George Gershwin (1898-1937):
• 1 The Man I love 02:05
• Johannes Brahms (1833-1897):
• 2 Ungarischer Tänz No. 1, WoO 1 02:48
• Jean Sibelius (1865-1957):
• 3 Valse triste, Op. 44 05:07
• Richard Wagner (1813-1883):
• 4 In das Album der Fürstin Metternich, WWV 94 03:01
• Manuel de Falla (1876-1946):
• 5 El Amor brujo: VIII. Danza ritual del fuego 03:23
• Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987):
• 6 Variation on a Russian Folk Song No. 2, Op. 51 01:01
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788):
• 7 Keyboard Sonata in B Minor, Wq. 55/3, H. 245 03:39
• Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909):
• 8 España, Op. 165: II. Tango 02:27
• Edvard Grieg (1843-1907):
• 9 4 Songs, Op. 21: III. Jeg giver mit digt til våren 03:17
• Charles Gounod (1818-1893):
• 10 Marche funèbre pour une marionnette 04:14
• Claude Debussy (1862-1918):
• 11 Clair de lune, L. 32 04:37
• Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915):
• 12 Etude No. 1, Op. 2 02:55
• Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924):
• 13 Foglio d'album 01:48
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828):
• 14 Moment musical No. 3, Op. 94 01:56
• Piotr Ilitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893):
• 15 6 Pieces, Op. 51: VI. Valse sentimentale 04:31
• Frederic Chopin (1810-1849):
• 16 Nocturne No. 2, Op. 9 04:13
• Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953):
• 17 Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64ter: I. Montagues and Capulets 03:49
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750):
• 18 Prelude, BWV 999 01:02
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791):
• 19 La Tartine de beurre, K.Anh.284n 01:39
• Robert Schumann (1810-1856):
• 20 Kinderszenen, Op. 15: XIII. Der Dichter spricht 02:20
• Erik Satie (1866-1925):
• 21 Gymnopédie No. 1 03:45
• Total Runtime 01:03:37

Info for Piano Encores

The encore, an end-of-concert ritual, is a moment apart, highly appreciated by the audience. What piece will the performer play? The curtain call offers this more relaxed moment when everyone awaits the chosen titles with great curiosity. Upon discovering the works played, often of short duration, the listener has the impression of getting to know the artist a little better, as these reveal his tastes and therefore a bit more of his personality.

Thus, pianist Tristan Pfaff interprets above all pieces he loves. The common thread of this disc reflects his pleasure in playing works from diverse periods and provenance, by several composers – each represented by a single work – and different techniques. From the Baroque era with Bach to music of the 20th century with Prokofiev and Kabalevsky, a very broad musical horizon is proposed. The popular song is also present with Gershwin's 'The man I love', in its piano version.

Here, after two discs – one devoted to Liszt, the other to Schubert –, the pianist shows that he is not the specialist of a single composer or limited to a particular style. Above all, he follows one of Schumann's numerous bits of advice inscribed on the score of his Album für die Jugend: 'Nothing great can be achieved in art without enthusiasm' or 'Have music not only in the fingers but also in the head and heart'. Of this composer, Tristan Pfaff is particularly fond of 'The Poet Speaks', the final tender miniature of the Kinderszenen, Op. 15. In this succession of pieces without precise construction, the eclecticism thus permits the listener to get closer to the musician and accompany him in that most sincere part of his inner being.

As a young child, he worked on some of these pieces (the fifth of Kabalevsky's Happy Variations on a Russian Folk Song, Op. 51 or Schubert's Moment musical, Op. 94 no.3). Others recall the innocence of childhood but are no less interesting (Mozart's La Tartine de beurre, Bach's sublime Prelude in C minor BWV 999 or Gounod's Funeral March for a Marionette). Three works are larger in scale: Clair de lune, the dreamy third movement of Debussy's Suite bergamasque, and two arrangements for piano by the composers themselves: Sibelius's Valse triste and the Ritual Fire Dance, the virtuosic piece drawn from Falla's ballet El amor brujo.

Tristan Pfaff performs famous works from the piano repertoire such as Brahms's Hungarian Dance No.1, Satie's Gymnopédie No.1, Prokofiev's 'The Montaigus and the Capulets' from Romeo and Juliet and Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 no.2, but also offers less frequently heard pieces such as Wagner's In das Album der Fürstin Metternich, Albéniz's Tango, Tchaikovsky's Valse sentimentale, Puccini's Foglio d’Album and To Spring, one of Grieg's 66 Lyric Pieces.

With this disc, recorded in very few takes, Tristan Pfaff, whose greatest pleasure is to play onstage, gives us a succession of encores… beloved works offered as gifts to the audience.

Tristan Pfaff, piano

Tristan Pfaff
At twenty-six, Tristan Pfaff already is a regular guest at leading venues: festivals such as Auvers-sur-Oise, Folles Journées, Roque d’Anthéron, Liszt en Provence, Menton and Pablo Casals, and at concert halls including the Orangerie de Bagatelle, Cité de la Musique, Victoria Hall, Petit Palais, Salle Cortot, Théâtre de l’Athénée and Hôtel Matignon. He has appeared as soloist with the Orchestre national de France, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Bretagne and the European Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. His first recording («live» at Auvers-sur-Oise), came out in 2010 under the DiscAuvers label, and a second, dedicated to Liszt, was released by Aparté in 2011. Tristan Pfaff is a winner of the Long-Thibaud Competition, Révélation Classique de l’ADAMI, associated artist for the Génération Spédidam programmes, and laureate of the Fondation Banque Populaire. In 2003 he was awarded a first prize by unanimous decision of the jury at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. A sought-after chamber musician, Tristan is delighted to join this operatic group to share in a unique musical experience.

Booklet for Piano Encores